


The Return

by riiiverdalewrites



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Future AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 16:39:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11718318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riiiverdalewrites/pseuds/riiiverdalewrites
Summary: Betty finally returns to Riverdale after moving to New York and runs into an old friend.





	The Return

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what this is. This is my first fic and figured I better start somewhere!!

Betty was returning to Riverdale for one reason and one reason only: to attend her nieces’ christening. Although, even whilst sitting on the train headed towards her hometown, she knew, deep down, there was an underlying motive for her long-awaited return. She gazed out at the endless pine forests whipping by, her mind flying back to her childhood in the small town, the friendships and the tragedies. Her mind came to settle on one person in particular, Jughead Jones. They had known eachother since they were kids, grown up playing together with her neighbour, Archie Andrews. Somewhere along the way she ended up falling completely and hopelessly in love with him. They had started dating in sophomore year, after the tragic death of Jason Blossom, but after the fallout of the murder and the tensions in the town that followed, they were forced further and further apart. By the time she left for Columbia neither even kept up the pretence of staying in touch. 

Her nails reflexively curled into her palms, the cuts had long since healed but the unseen scars still remained. She had been doing better, had built a life for herself in New York and her palms had remained relatively unmarked for months. She knew though, that would not last long with her upcoming trip home. The darkness surrounding Riverdale had a tendency to seep into the minds of the inhabitants and, no matter how happy she could pretend to be in New York, Riverdale always brought out the worst in people. 

Betty hopped off the train already spotting her sister, Polly, across the parking lot, two small redheads clinging to her leg and a tall man, who Betty assumed was her new boyfriend, George, by her side with the newest addition to the family cradled in his arms. Polly had moved to New Hampshire after the twins were born and that’s where she had met George, however, she wanted her daughter christened back in Riverdale in the same church her two sons had been as well as Betty and Polly herself. 

Betty embraced her sister before kneeling town to hug Thomas and Jason Jr. before finally greeting George and her new niece, Charlotte.

“Thanks for picking me up, Polly. I could’ve easily taken a taxi.” 

“Oh nonsense, of course I’d pick you up!” Polly responded. “And besides, the boys couldn’t wait to see you.”

Betty gazed down at her two nephews lovingly while they both latched themselves onto her legs.

Betty had been looking forward to seeing her sister; she had missed her desperately and hadn’t been able to visit New Hampshire since Christmastime. Her mother, on the other hand, she wasn’t quite as excited to see. No matter how good Alice Cooper’s intentions may be, her methods were highly questionable and her over-protective nature and overbearing personality had driven Betty crazy her entire life. 

She had barely made it through the front door before her mother had started bombarding her with questions about how often Betty was exercising, whether she was taking her meds (she wasn’t but she wouldn’t dare tell her mother that) and trying to decipher whether Betty’s new friends were suitable enough to be associated with her daughter. Betty just about made it through dinner, thankful for the distraction George and Alice’s new granddaughter provided before Betty was making any and every excuse to get out of the house. 

The bell announced Betty’s entrance into Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, the old diner where she had spent many a night in her teenage years, eating burgers and milkshakes with Archie and Veronica and – 

There he was, sitting in his usual booth. Some things never change. He looked mostly the same too. His old crown beanie sat lightly on his head as he typed away on the laptop in front of him. He had grown slightly, seemed taller and had filled out a bit. His once youthful face had grown harder and he had an air of seriousness about him that wasn’t there before. 

Betty hovered in the doorway, unsure of whether to approach him or not. She glanced around the diner nervously, not much had changed since she’d been gone and the familiarity helped calm her nerves. Jughead glanced up, noticing her presence and made her decision for her. She plastered what she hoped was a reassuring smile on her face and made her way to his booth.

“May I sit?” she asked hesitantly, as if she were approaching a wild animal and didn’t want to spook it. He looked up at her, a look of betrayal flashed across his face before he regained his poker face. He simply grunted in response and returned to the laptop before him. Betty slipped into the booth across from him, heart already pounding in anticipation. They sat in silence for what felt like hours but was probably less than a minute.

“Still writing then?” She asked hesitantly. Jughead nodded, eyes still fixed on his screen.

“What are you working on now?” He simply shrugged in response. Betty swallowed and glanced down at her hands on the table in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, so quietly he almost missed it.

“Why the hell are you sorry?” He asked with a touch more malice than he intended. Her head snapped up at his tone, eyes already glassing over.

“I didn’t mean – “ he started backtracking, “look, I just, I thought you were gone. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he responded more quietly. Betty simply nodded, eyes trained on the table. 

“What about you?” He asked, his tone even softer.

“What about me?” She said, glancing up, daring herself to look at his face. His eyes were focussed on her, trying to gauge her response.

“You’re writing?” She nodded, closing her eyes and sighing before leaning back, resting her head on the back of the booth. Why was talking to him so hard? She thought to herself. They were once so comfortable around eachother, they knew what they were thinking without even needing to ask. Now his expression was unreadable and his words gave even less away.

She cleared her throat, “I work for the school magazine.”

“At Columbia?” He asked. She raised her eyebrows, finally meeting his gaze.

“Betty, it’s a small town. Few people actually get out and you know how people like to gossip.” He replied to her look of surprise, “of course, I knew you were at Columbia.” She nodded silently, slightly embarrassed at her own assumptions.

“So, everything the same around here?” She asked, trying to change the subject. 

“Still the same shithole that you left it,” he replied, already looking back at his laptop. She swallowed around the lump in her throat, already feeling the guilt seeping back in.

“Look, Betty, can we talk?” Jughead asked, closing his laptop, clearly done with the small talk.

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Betty replied, voice only wavering slightly.

“I know things didn’t necessarily end badly but the didn’t exactly end well.” He responded, looking directly at her again, “between us, I mean.” She nodded, unable to meet his gaze.

There hadn’t been some massive fight; there hadn’t even been an official break up. One day they just stopped talking and there was an unspoken understanding between the two of them that it was done. One day she couldn’t imagine her life without him and the next she couldn’t see a life with him, like a flip had been switched in both their minds that the odds against them were too high and they were done fighting them. Even still, there were nights Betty would lay awake wishing she had tried harder, had fought for him, for what they had. But in the light of day she knew what’s done was done and he was already fighting enough battles and maybe it had all been for the best after all. But now, sitting before him, the boy who had stolen her heart and seemingly hadn’t given it back, she had no idea how or why she ever let him go. 

She realises she’s been staring at him for a beat too long and she quickly refocuses her gaze on the table, cheeks flushing slightly. 

She clears her throat, “I should probably get going.”

“You’re not going to order anything?” He asks with a quizzical expression.

“No, no, I’ve actually already eaten. I just needed to get out the house.” She replies with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes before she silently slips out the booth and practically runs out the door.

“Shit,” Jughead mutters under his breath. He sits, gazing out the window for a few minutes before promptly standing up and following Betty out the door, stuffing his laptop in his bag as he goes. He stands on the corner and watches he taillights receding in the distance. Absentmindedly he pulls out a cigarette, lights it, and takes a long drag. He glances back down the street. Riverdale had always been a sleepy town but there’s something about the darkness which makes it feel more like a ghost town. The neon lights of Pop’s flicker, humming quietly overhead, casting a reddish glow across the parking lot. The only other source of light comes from a lone streetlamp halfway down the street which casts long shadows across the sidewalk. 

Jughead doesn’t know how long he’s been standing there but there’s a nip in the air, being late September in upstate New York, and his fingers have gone numb. He glances down the street one more time before making his way over to his motorcycle and heading home. 

He’d thought about his reunion with Betty more times than he’d like to admit. Imagined what he’d say to her, what he’d hope she’d respond. Needless to say the evening had not gone as planned. Sure, he’d pictured it countless times but he had honestly believed she was gone for good and he thought, if she ever came back, she would most likely actively avoid him. So, when she was sitting before him, just as beautiful as he remembered, he froze. He was kicking himself now for how much of an asshole he’d been. Sure, she hadn’t reached out and she was certainly equally to blame for things falling apart between them, but he was sitting there now wondering how he ever let her get away.


End file.
